1,000 words
Of all the many threats to the republican form of government, one stands clear above all else: The idolatry of ideology. Before I explain, however, I should clear the water. The term idolatry is typically used in a religious context. Although that is relevant, it is not necessarily the primary context I am writing in here. It would be prudent of me, therefore, to define these terms as I am using them.
What is idolatry? Essentially, it is used to describe that which denies the unity or sovereignty of G-d (Such as through the worship of idols). It is considered self-evident by the Greek reason of Plato and Aristotle and by Judaic revelation that there is one Unmoved Mover, Uncaused Cause, or Prime Mover. The One must be the epitome of perfect beauty, reason, and justice. The One must be indivisible, contemplating only the perfect contemplation (Aristotle believed the perfect contemplation was self-contemplation, but Judaic tradition differs). Necessarily, the One is therefore the origin of truth; Accordingly, to hold any truth besides the truth of the One is idolatry. I fully understand that there are many who disagree with some or all of this concept, but for this essay I must take it as a given that there is by some means or another an objective truth.
Now, what is ideology? Ideology is the lens through which one views the world. In other words, a set of perceived truths. It is a system of ideals which guides political thought and action.
By far the easiest example of the danger of ideology is the catastrophe of the 20th century. There is a tendency for human beings to construct our own reality, especially in response to hardship. In this reality of our own choosing, we are always justified, there is always a victim (Usually ourselves), and there is always a culprit. When this tendency combines with the overwhelming human tendency for tribalism and scapegoating, calamity follows.
The Communist regimes promised utopia, yet their policies led to the deaths of 100 million people. 100 million; twice the casualties of all the theatres of the Second World War combined. How does it happen? Not by simple mathematical mistakes, that is for sure. Communist leaders knew their policies were killing unspeakable amounts of people, but at no point did they stop to reconsider. The peasants who died had probably committed some sin against Communism anyway, they could tell themselves, and the pains of the purge were necessary to achieve true Communism, true utopia. They were always promising Heaven on earth, yet always dragging earth to the depths of Sheol. In the end, they created a world for themselves in which anything could be justified in the name of achieving Communism, even mass starvation and murder.
Similarly, in the hardship that followed the First World War, the German Nazis failed to reflect on where their nation might have gone wrong. Instead, they created a narrative in which an otherwise triumphant Germany was backstabbed by Jews and leftists from within. This led to a spiral of lies as outlandish as removing the Old Testament from the Bible and claiming that Jesus was not a Jew but an “Aryan.” The Roma people would also face genocidal persecution, despite being more Aryan than the Germans. This false reality, including the so-called “science of race”, led directly to the extermination of 10 million people, on top of 50 million wartime casualties.
Those two, however, are only the most horrific examples. There is no shortage of examples that are closer to home, if less physically dangerous. For example, when a radical pro-abortionist creates a reality in which it is acceptable to have an abortion up to and even beyond the point of birth for any reason at all, not only do they sacrifice a child at the altar of Moloch, they sacrifice a fundamental truth at the altar of their ideology. Similarly, when QAnon insists without evidence that the 2020 US presidential election was a fake election, that the world is in a simulation devised by the elite, they too sacrifice reality at the altar of their ego.
A personal pet peeve of mine are titles and headlines that run something along the lines of “The Truth About So and So.” How terribly presumptive. How do you know the truth? The truth is a very serious and powerful thing— You had better be right. And therein lies the whole issue with this subject: There may be one absolute truth, and everything else may be idolatry, but how do we know what the truth is? I am not here to solve what thousands of years of philosophers and prophets have posited. I can only say that we must do our best to stay grounded in reality, to question everything we believe and why we believe it, without letting go of one of the fundamental truths that are the inherent sanctity of human life and the unity of the Divine. When viewing through that lens, you will find that, while there are achievable improvements to be made in the world, no politics will save you; no ideology can.
Most importantly, however, do not forget the basics. As Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Above all, we must not forget the sanctity of human life. After that, we must use one of the greatest tools G-d gave us: Reason. Our reason will sometimes be wrong; we all are, with considerable frequency. Nonetheless, it is through reason and knowledge of the One that we can escape the ideology of idolatry, which has its hold on all of us. In the immortal words of the Jewish prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah), “Come, let us reason together.”